There are only a couple of days left to enter the Colossal Castle Contest VIII.
We've already got over 160+ entries, and, if previous years are any guide,
a large number of MOCs will be submitted between now and 11:59 PM (US Eastern time zone) December 31.
If you've submitted a MOC that hasn't yet appeared, check the naughty list
to make sure that there are no problems with your entry.
Have fun with the last couple days of building, and good luck to all of the participants.

As nice as set 7952 is, Maydayartist's Castle Advent Calendar is far cooler. He wanted to come up with a unique Christmas present for his girlfriend, and built this MOC. Twenty-four hidden doors pop open to reveal daily gifts leading up to Christmas day. Maydayartist is a member of Eurobricks, and all of his MOCs can be found in his Brickshelf gallery.

Wochenender describes himself as a "german chemistry student, drummer, swimmer and AFOL in one person."
For the past year he's been creating a fictional world, Caldera, featuring the walled city of Gramfeste.
One recent addition is the Mages' Guild Academy.
Young wizards come from all around to be trained at this school on wall of Gramfeste.
Features include the country's largest library and a rotating observatory tower.
Be sure to look around Gramfeste, to find other great settings like the guarded manor and the
marketplace.
Wochenender's creations can be found on his blog, the World of Caldera,
and also on Flickr and Brickshelf.

Subix recently announced in our forum the completion of a major project,
his Predjama Castle.
He lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he is involved with Kocke Klub, the premiere Slovenian LEGO forum.
This LUG decided to build local landmarks for their public shows, and Subix decided that Predjama was perfect for him.
He first visited this castle when he was in gradeschool, and was so taken by it that he visited many times (he lives only 50 km away), including an annual knights' tournament held on the grounds.
After deciding to build this in LEGO two years ago, he visited many times, taking pictures, studying the blueprints, and reading books about its history.
It took him a month to draw up plans and decide what bricks to order, and then another seven months for the construction.
The completed castle was recently displayed at KockeFest, where over 3000 visitors were able to see it during the public exhibition.
Plans are now underway with his fellow LUG members to add a nearby village and a battlefield.

The most striking feature of Predjama is its amazing natural defenses.
It's built into the mouth of a huge cave and surrounded by overhanging cliffs, with a very limited approach.
There are even caves extending behind it that have been expanded to allow inhabitants to escape or to accept supplies in the case of a siege.
Essentially this is a real life Helm's Deep.
The first castle was built in the 13th century and has since undergone two major reconstructions, one after wartime destruction and again after a major earthquake.
Today this national treasure is maintained as a museum.